


Gypaetus barbatus

by dehautdesert



Series: The Third Aspect [2]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials Fusion, Awkward Tension, Daemons, Gen, Step-parent Wangst, Step-parents, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 23:45:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14389614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dehautdesert/pseuds/dehautdesert
Summary: In the Age of the Trees, Nerdanel and her daemon are introduced to their future in-laws.





	Gypaetus barbatus

**Author's Note:**

> Not necessary to read the introduction that comes before this, especially if you're familiar with daemon-verse, but it does explain some of the head-canon specific to this verse in regards to the daemons of elves.
> 
> So, the way this will work is that each part of the series will have the list of daemons that appear in that part at the end, by name and species, and the title for each part will be the binomial for the species of one of the daemons that features in the part - in this case, Feanor's
> 
> As for the individual daemons' names, normally in daemon-fic I just make up names, but since this is set in a world not our own to begin with, I thought I'd have some fun and give the daemons names of mythological figures from our world - some of which will be chosen at random, but others (case in point: Feanor) will be very on-the-nose.
> 
> Oh, and either the Archive or my computer is being an asshole when it comes to getting diacritical marks to show up today, so we'll have to do without. My apologies.
> 
> In this part, Feanor has a special daemon, because he is a special, special snowflake.

 

*~*~*

 

" … _In shape she was much as her father Elimelech, the daemon of Miriel Serinde, had been – a fierce-looking raptor of large size – but Elimelech it is said had plumage of gold and black; beautiful to all who looked upon him, yet still even as the true birds of the far south-eastern lands where few of the Eldar have ever walked, and these birds are known to the Men of that place as_ 'bone eaters' _._

_The daemon of Feanor was larger, and her plumage was orange next to her skin, and along the length of each feather the colour flickered and was as fire, and so the whole of her seemed to be aflame – a wondrous sight to behold._

_Yea, even the Valar were amazed when they saw such a daemon, saying – 'Is it true that this is the form of a creature in the World? For in Aman or elsewhere we have seen no such bird.'_

_But Yavanna said, 'Nay, there is no form like it in all of Arda, for indeed I have created none.'_

_Yet it came to pass that in later years Men said among themselves that such birds truly did exist in Ea, (though mostly this is believed merely a superstition of that race) and these were known by many names among the different tribes of Men, but the one best known to Elves is the name of '_ Phoenix _'._

_So the form of the daemon of Feanor was said to be a sign of the greatness of herself and her partner, and the name her father gave her before he passed with Miriel to the Halls of Mandos was Pandora_."

 

*~*~*

 

The children who sat upon the grass as he approached jumped, like a monster from a bedtime story had arrived; like the primitive elves who knew no better might have greeted Orome in times gone by, but it was Orpah who saw him first – and said aloud so that her brother and his elf might hear her too –

"Jonah, Irime!" as she flapped from one of Arafinwe's scrawny shoulders to the other.

The girl and second bird looked up from whatever game they were playing, as did the boy whose name no doubt had been called without words, and behind them the eldest of that brood glanced up from her book, then joined her siblings in their shock, though dreary Findis hid it better by far.

Feanaro did not even catch the reaction of her other half, the pitiful lump she carried with her always as it did not fly. Findis turned to her mother while the younger two stared.

"M-mother," she stuttered. The second syllable was devoid of fear, but that first attempt at the word faltered. Meanwhile the eyes of the daemons flickered upwards, and each of them searched the sky above.

However, the one they were looking for was not so easily found today. The corner of Feanaro's lip curled up.

Seated behind him on the horse, Nerdanel twitched. She sensed the discomfort, as Feanaro had known she would, and soon he hoped that she and her other half would understand what he meant them to. But presently Indis approached from around the corner of a hedge, into the private garden that had been Miriel's devising, but was spoilt now.

Her eyes fell upon him with surprise, though he noted she was as proficient at concealing her disdain for him as ever.

"Feanaro," she said, with some exclamation. "I had not heard that you were visiting!"

"Not really _visiting_ ," he replied. "As it is my home."

There was a sharp stillness for a brief moment in her – she must have known he'd caught her out.

"Of course," she said at once. "I will have more food brought out – we were about to dine, and it is good to see you."

He glanced at her litter instantly; saw the girls wrinkle their noses as if to say _'no it isn't'_ while the runt stared at him dumbly. The worst of them was not yet present, and of course he'd planned it that way. The three little birds were still.

"Will your friend need a room to stay in?" Indis asked him.

Feanaro grinned. "I thought she might take my mother's, Indis." He liked the way her eyes widened. "Unless Arafinwe is now keeping his toys there."

"I don't!" said Arafinwe, hastily.

Though he had spoken casually, and was careful not to let his expression change, Feanaro was in fact relieved to hear this. He wouldn't have put such desecration past Indis, after all. But then, there had also been an underlying fierceness in his tone that might have suggested his true feelings and prompted Arafinwe's sharp response. Whichever it was, his lack of reaction made the boy more visibly nervous, and his daemon was compelled to say on after a moment.

"We-we wouldn't do that, Feanaro!"

_Now_ , thought Feanaro.

Within a heartbeat _she_ swooped in from behind him and over the heads of the children, darkening their faces with her shadow as she passed, then perched upon the limb of the magnolia Findis had been reading under, shaking heavy petals to the ground. All three ducked and Indis drew back even though there was a fair distance between her and the daemon, then Findis stood up from her stool and backed away in a hurry, holding Solomon up to her chest. Arafinwe's hands came up protectively over his golden locks, and all this happened as she said –

"I'm glad to hear that, _little dove_."

It was not a term of endearment.

Indis found herself first, and bowed her head in greeting. "Pandora, it is good to see you too."

Pandora ignored her.

A few moments later Hephaestus, who had hung back with Pandora, followed her into the private garden by the same way, but stopped on Nerdanel's shoulder instead of frightening the children too. A disappointment, but not an unexpected one, Feanaro had to admit. Noticing this gave Indis an opportunity smooth away some of the awkwardness that was in the air; she walked towards their horse as Feanaro dismounted.

 "You are welcome, Lady, to the house of Finwe," she said to Nerdanel. "I am Indis, Finwe's wife."

Feanaro glared at her for harping on on that account, and pulled Nerdanel down from the horse before she could reply, setting her gently on the ground.

"This is Nerdanel," he said. "Daughter of Mahtan. And her partner Hephaestus, son of Mnemosyne."

Nerdanel bowed, as was expected of her. "I pray you pardon us for intruding without asking permission or giving advance notice," she said.

"She pardons you," said Feanaro, before Indis could say aught either. She instead shut her mouth, forced a smile and bowed her head in turn.

"You are welcome; Nerdanel, Hephaestus," she said then. "This is Ishmael, my daemon."

Ishmael had somehow escaped Feanaro's notice before then – despite his being the 'most beautiful daemon of all the Vanyar'. Most flashy, perhaps. But he observed Nerdanel's reactions closely as the hummingbird swooped forward and hovered before her.

His eyes and Pandora's both scoured close, the calm silver-green gaze of his Master's daughter, and from the side he judged her appraisal. Her head lifted, he saw, to see the daemon better, for he could not but catch her eye with his colour. Her eyes softened, as though she beheld a pleasing sight indeed.

They did not sparkle with amazement. Her mouth did not open. She did not draw back. Her smile was not enamoured.

_Good,_ Feanaro thought; his heart relieved again.

Ishmael's form was small as birds or daemons went, smaller than all his children and smaller by far than Pandora, who could have swallowed him in a single gulp, but he was of a colour near-unmatched by any daemon Feanaro had seen – a vibrant violet that gleamed jewel-like in the light of the trees. An ornament, Pandora called him. An apt descriptor.

"Welcome to our home, friends of Feanaro," Ishmael said.

Hephaestus lowered his head a little. "We accept your hospitality most gratefully."

He'd had to reply thus, of course.

Nerdanel's Hephaestus was a most stately raven, in whose blackness the light of Pandora was reflected in tiny orange stars, but not even her flames could lighten the whole length of one of his feathers, and Feanaro admired him for that.

Then Ishmael dipped and zipped past, towards the magnolia tree – not daring to near Pandora's branch, of course – and hovered again in front of the nestlings, but as was proper it was Indis who followed across the grass and waved one oh-so elegant hand towards her spawn.

"These are my children; Findis, Irime, Arafinwe; and their partners."

Findis bobbed into a half-hearted curtsey and spoke in a monotone. "Welcome, my lady. This is Solomon."

Solomon said nothing. The eyes of his elf flickered up and down Nerdanel's stockier outline; narrowed a little. She took notice, Feanaro guessed, of how plain Nerdanel's garment was in comparison to her own bejewelled gown.

A little emotion at least did Findis show however when she caught sight of Feanaro's scowl.

_Oh yes, princess,_ he thought. _Such is the garment of an artist, of one who does more than sit on her backside reading books all day. Mark you well the difference._ He hoped most dearly that the girl could find it within herself to be more polite to Nerdanel and Hephaestus while they were here.

Otherwise she would regret it.

Irime was a little better though. "Welcome to our home, Nerdanel, Hephaestus. This is Jonah."

Jonah echoed, "Welcome."

And Arafinwe, abrasively chipper as ever, hurried forward to grasp his mother's skirt, and with a smile that seemed to somehow sparkle in the light of Laurelin he swept his arm out in a bow more suited to the style of a courtier and chirped brightly –

"Welcome to the house of Finwe, Lady Nerdanel!"

Orpah too, flapping to the ground – she was too young yet to fly all that well – bent forward with her wings spread in imitation of a bow in a most un-bird like and ridiculous fashion.

" – and welcome Hephaestus, too!" she added.

Nerdanel thanked them with a small chuckle – at how pathetic they were, Feanaro assumed, and he misliked very much the way the little imp's cheeks pinked and brushed closer to Indis' skirts. Arafinwe hid behind them fully when he glimpsed the way Feanaro looked at him. Concurrently the girls shied away further from the tree when they heard a low, growl-like noise come from Pandora.

But they did not dare to comment.

Instead, Ishmael went to Findis then and whispered something in her ear neither Feanaro nor Pandora could hear, but Feanaro turned his glare on Indis so she would know he was aware of whatever plots she would hatch with her brood, and she could not meet his gaze when he did so.

He might have needled at her for it at any other time, only Nerdanel looked at him with a question in her eyes that edged uncomfortably close to apprehension; Feanaro wished her no undue distress, so he postponed that conflict.

_Let the usurper stir her brats to whatever plot she wants,_ Pandora thought at him. _She will not prevail. Mother-and-father know who their true child is, they would have to be blind not to see it at a glance from this garden alone. It is to spare their feelings they do not admit it – for Mother-and-father are too kind by far._

It was true. Ishmael might have been lauded for his great beauty but his children were but pale and ordinary in comparison even to himself, and that needed no comment. _Everyone_ could see it, even if they said it not out of respect for Finwe – Feanaro was sure of it.

Arafinwe's Orpah was a dove of mostly grey plumage, some brown, and a few spots of emerald on her wings to signify she and her elf perhaps had patches of interest. Small ones. Irime's Jonah was a strange, cackling thing the Giver of Fruits called a 'kookaburra', a bird of many browns, white underbelly and an oversized head, but less strange was he than his brother – Findis' daemon Solomon. That creature was a dull thing resembling a bird Yavanna called 'kiwi', brown and boring, and could not even fly but was carried everywhere by his elf as though he were a beast. As for Nolofinwe…

_Nerdanel and Hephaestus see it too,_ he remarked to his other self _._ _Though they are too polite to say it_.

_They will say it when we are alone together_ , Pandora predicted.

"Feanaro?"

And then all thoughts of the interlopers were gone, for there was Finwe, King of all the Noldor, walking into the garden from the gate that came from the palace and shooing away his attendants as he laid eyes on his son.

The King of the Noldor wore a cloak of rich purple over a wide-sleeved tunic no less black than Hephaestus's feathers that was decked with jewels and an elaborately braided leather belt with pewter buckle Feanor recognised as his own creation – though this both pleased and embarrassed him. _I'll make a new one soon,_ he told himself, _and Father will not have to look a fool wearing a monstrosity devised by a child._ He would also replace the crown his father wore with one of his making as soon as he could, he decided – for the one Finwe wore now was beautiful, but the one Feanaro would make would be better.

Around the king's neck a stripe of scarlet, black and gold was coiled – a kingly companion indeed – and this was Gaia, Finwe's daemon, who took the form of a banded serpent. It was hard to see her black eyes in amongst her black scales, but her head lifted up towards Pandora and Finwe's eyes brightened and he smiled.

"Feanaro!" he called, then gave a little laugh, striding forward, arms wide. "You had not written ahead to tell us you were coming!" He was remonstrative, but not. "Ah, but I had missed you so!"

Then his arms were enfolded around Feanaro, and Gaia slithered around to wrap over his hair and lay her scaled cheek against his while her tongue flickered – and Feanaro kissed the cheek of his father and held on tightly in turn. Tightly enough, he deemed, for the rest to get the message, for the rest had all to soon reminded themselves to him when one of the little chits clicked their tongue – he suspected Findis, but only because the click sounded lower than one Irime would make – and his eyes snapped open.

_See how he loves me_ , he thought towards them. _He holds me longer than he would any of you. I have observed it, and even dullards such as you should do likewise._

_They see_ , Pandora assured him. _They are at least not so dull as to miss it_.

"My father – I missed you too."

When Feanaro finally wrenched his arms apart it was only to lead his kingly father-and-mother to the other part of him, all but barrelling Indis out of the way as he passed.

"Now, come and see Pandora too, Father!" he insisted.

Finwe chuckled and let himself be pulled towards the tree. "You have not changed since you were a child," he claimed. Feanaro rolled his eyes; kept his arm around Finwe's shoulders just below Gaia as he held his arm out for Pandora to cling to.

No comparison had he for Pandora's weight when she was on his arm, for there was no bird like her in all the world, but his father had always said she weighed no less then Elimelech had, though the birds whose form he had taken did not live in Aman and no one they knew had ever held one. But she was heavy, certainly, for she was powerful, and her talons gripped tightly the vambrace on his forearm which he wore always to protect from her sharpness. And she did not burn as real fire did, unless she was truly furious, but she was warm, and warmer when Finwe's hand stroked over her head.

Gaia raised herself up to greet her too. Her scarlet was not as bright as Pandora's plumage, but she accented well next to her daughter. And of course, Elimelech had been black and gold as well, while next to Gaia, Ishmael's pretty purple clashed.

"Well met, daughter," said Gaia. "This is something of a surprise. And with a friend as well?"

Finwe slapped his own head comically. "Ah yes, _Elbereth_ – but I am a fool!" He turned. "Welcome to my home, Lady. I am Finwe."

"And I am Gaia," said the snake.

Nerdanel had come up behind them silently, and a gust of wind blew her autumn hair over her face, which Hephaestus's beak pulled back behind her ear at once. Again, Feanaro made her introductions, even as she was opening her own mouth.

"This is Nerdanel, Father," he said, "daughter of Mahtan, and her daemon Hephaestus son of Mnemosyne. She is a mason, and an architect, and will be staying with us for some time."

" – if it is no imposition on your grace," Nerdanel added pointedly.

"Nay, of course not!" Finwe cried. "I will have one of my servants prepare a room for you – " he turned to do so, arm raised, and Feanaro cut in –

"She can stay in my mother's rooms, Father – she is not unworthy of them."

He might have said she would sprout wings and fly there herself next to her daemon, Finwe's reaction was that surprised. Gaia had to answer for him.

"Then it will be done," she said.

"… right," said Finwe, just before he broke into a silly grin and started nodding, knowingly. Feanaro felt suddenly warm in his face and took a step back from his father, who remained grinning. "Yes, I'll have one of our servers take care of it, I saw them coming up from the kitchen on my way and they should bring our meal soon – you have met my children, Lady Nerdanel?" he asked. "My wife?"

Feanaro's fingers clenched abruptly shut.

But Nerdanel smiled serenely – blankly, Feanaro fancied. "Yes, your grace. I was very pleased to meet them."

"Ah, but you haven't met my second son I take it – he is late, but I know he will be thrilled to see you here, Feanaro, and to meet your friend."

Unsure as to whether Finwe actually believed that or not, Feanaro only raised an eyebrow and smirked on the side of his mouth that faced away from his father. This was not a smirk of amusement, but a way to release the sudden twisted feeling in his heart.

Then Jonah took to wing and flew above the hedgerow and as far, Feanaro guessed, as he could stand to be away from Irime; circled, and then fluttered back down to his elf's shoulder.

"Sister-and-brother are coming up the path even now," he said. "They will be here soon."

"Ah, then we can all sit at the table," Finwe said, and put his arm back around Feanaro to lead him there. "I'll have them put out extra perches too. You know, of course, that it is not like Nolofinwe to be late, but he has been out riding so often lately that I think one day I'll look up and there will be Orome before me instead of my son!"

Now it was Feanaro who clicked his tongue, dismissing such as illustrious comparison as due of that… person. "Why, is Ruth herself big enough to ride, these days?" he asked.

He'd meant it as a jibe, but even before Finwe answered he saw Irime snort and try to hide a smile with her hand – just about heard Jonah whisper her name to her chidingly; guessed the reason with ease and no little resentment.

"Well, as a matter of fact, she is," their father said absently. "Unusual to be sure, but I'm used to unusual daemons by now, I think!"

For emphasis he pet Pandora's wing again. Feanaro's fingers tightened harder against themselves.

_This was to be expected_ , Pandora told him privately, leaning into Finwe's caress. _It means nothing. Such a size is unwieldly; inelegant. She is nothing, and so is he. They will all see it, even if they say it not._

_As you say,_ Feanaro thought in turn.

She _was_ right. Though daemons that grew bigger than their elves were all but unheard of, with a few exceptions…

_And there she is_ , Pandora whispered to him, seeing their approach before Feanaro. _The giantess_.

The shadow of a rider passed before the small gate he and Nerdanel had come in through. The horse they'd travelled on seemed interested at first in the approach of another horse, but then backed off, sensing that in truth no other horse approached. Feanaro stopped at the table to pour himself some wine before he bothered to look.

"Ah, Nolvo – look who has come to see us!" Finwe called warmly.

The gate was opened.

Black was Ruth's mane, black and longer than some elves' hair– though her black was not a patch on Hephaestus's – dark brown her coat, and she more oft mistaken for a beast of burden than Feanaro's half-brother's daemon, by those who did not know better. Granted, that was few enough, the pair being well known by their connection to the king, yet the fact remained. She was bigger than a pony now but Feanaro could see not yet full grown, for Nolofinwe was not yet so, and she whickered softly as she brought him up the garden path.

Ruth was not an ugly horse, he supposed. But she was, in form, only a horse, and inconvenient for being one. The house Finwe had built with Miriel had been half torn apart in Feanaro's youth to enlarge the corridors and widen the staircases for the anticipated bulk of her.

And then there was Nolofinwe.

"Brother!" Nolofinwe exclaimed – and much as it irked Feanaro to be called that, by _that_ , it irked him too that he could not _see_ the deceit upon the second child's face, even knowing it was in his heart.

"Sister Pandora?" said Ruth. Her face was that of a horse, so neither he nor Pandora could penetrate its depths. Her voice was surprised, and did not _sound_ unhappy.

"Nolofinwe," said Feanaro, neutrally. Or he thought neutrally, but out of the corner of his eye he saw his father wince. He begrudged Nolofinwe deeply then for causing pain to their father. As for Pandora, her eyes slid towards the two interlopers, but apart from that she did not so much as turn her head.

"I didn't know you were coming, Feanaro," Nolofinwe told him.

_Obviously_ , thought Feanaro.

"How long are you staying?"

"I didn't tell anyone I was coming," he said. He sipped his wine and sat down at the table, next to the seat Finwe had chosen. "And I am staying as long as I like."

He then pulled the chair on his other side out for Nerdanel, but she regarded Nolofinwe first, and bowed to him respectfully.

"No need for that," Pandora muttered. "He is but a boy."

Hephaestus flew to perch on the back of the chair next to Feanor, but Nerdanel persisted.

"Greetings, Prince Nolofinwe," she said. "I am Nerdanel, and this is Hephaestus. We are friends of your brother-and-sister."

Nolofinwe dismounted from Ruth and bowed in turn. "My lady."

"Come, Nolvo," said Finwe. "Sit on my other side. I see you almost as little as Feanaro these days, with your riding."

Feanaro set his goblet down with a click, seeing a smile form on Indis' downcast face as she passed the seat that as Finwe's so-called wife was supposedly her due and left the space for her spawn. Irime took note, he saw, of his goblet's noise and also smiled; a nasty smile, for she was a nasty little thing, and he was sure her daemon was working hard to suppress its tell-tale cackle.

But Nolofinwe said nothing, only obeyed, until he was seated opposite Feanaro, who let him know with his eyes how little he liked either that arrangement, or how Finwe patted Ruth's flank when she came by him.

Then Jonah and Orpah both flew across the table towards their sister, giggling. Jonah made it to perch atop Ruth's mane, but Orpah – still lacking when it came to flight – stumbled onto the table in front of Finwe before she reached her. Finwe laughed. What else could he do though, thought Feanaro, at such a display of idiocy? He must have remembered how Pandora had been able to touch the clouds long before she'd reached Orpah's age.

"Give us the next ride, Ruth!" Jonah insisted.

"Yes!" Orpah panted, and finally managed to flap her way up onto the horse's head. "We'll ride you next!" and they jumped up and down on her head like fools.

She was dumb, and Nolofinwe brushed the top of his own head in annoyance but said nothing either. It was not until Ishmael hovered close to them, saying – "not in front of guests, you two. Sit properly upon your perches when we're at the table." – that they returned to their elves.

Finally the palace gate swung open and the servers came at last, carrying the meal of fine breads, cold meats and cheeses, and many fruits of the tree and of the earth that they set upon the table before the family. The elves all chose what they wished from the selection, (the daemons did not eat, of course) speaking mostly of frivolous things such as the matter of the book Findis had been reading or who had been winning Irime and Arafinwe's game.

But it seemed to Feanaro that this talk did not displease Nerdanel. Or did not exactly displease her, but that there was something wistful in her eyes. He deciphered this quickly, in his mind – Nerdanel had no siblings, yet like most elves he guessed she desired a large family. He did not mind.

He understood all too well, since the same sort of longing had come over his father, long ago, to see many children playing in his garden. And if these four had but been _his_ siblings, and Miriel not Indis had been sat across the table, and Elimelech not Ishmael perched behind her…

Yes. There was a sadness behind his father's eyes that Feanaro felt he knew well the cause of. If only, Finwe must have thought, if only the four of them could have been hers instead of the consolation wife's. If only those four had not all been so disappointing. He was far too kind to say so.

And there was something wistful also in the eyes of Nolofinwe as he gazed at the fire of Pandora. Feanaro knew well why _this_ was.

_He is still envious_ , he told Pandora. _As well he should be._

_He has been since his earliest days,_ Pandora agreed, _and the giantess ashamed. So should she be, to call herself a daughter of Gaia, being so unsightly._

Pandora flew back onto the perch a servant put out for her. Nolofinwe averted his eyes from her then, to pretend once more to be listening to Findis' words, but Feanaro was certainly not fooled. Nor was Pandora.

_Let her be shamed by me and let him envy me my wings_ , she told him. _Let them lie awake each night and curse themselves they were not born the children of Miriel and Elimelech, and worthy of the blood of Finwe. They are nothing, they and their brothers and sisters – nothing. We are the trueborn heir of his blood and the essence of Mother Gaia, and they cannot even comprehend Us well enough to dream of what they could have been._

Feanaro's eyes scoured the bunch of them one more time. The twittering little birds and their plain partners, and the cumbersome equine and the plainest partner of them all beneath her massive head.

He looked pointedly at Nolofinwe's hand when it came forth to pour himself a glass of wine, and he made sure Nolofinwe saw the smile that was on his face when he looked at the near-faded scar upon the palm. That scar proved the fury of Pandora's flames, for in his infancy the colt had dared to put his grubby hand upon her feathers and her anger had flared like wildfire, and her fire burned with vengeance. The scar remained to this day.

_He cannot touch me_ , Pandora told Feanaro. _He cannot reach that high even sitting on her back_.

Then he caught his father's eye, and received his smile as though to say he knew all that was in Feanaro's thoughts and agreed with all of it. And Gaia's scales shone in the light of the stars as Laurelin began to wane to Telperion's waxing.

_It is as you say,_ Feanaro said to Pandora.

Then, attention was given back to Nerdanel and Hephaestus.

 

*~*~*

 

Pandora was a tall bird, she crested Feanaro's knee when standing next to him – though little cause did she have to trail along the ground as daemons like Ruth did. Her feathers were thorny, and the thorns alight with fire that only burned hot enough to wound when they so desired, and her eyes were as gems and her claws as knives – and something more than knives that was in Feanaro's heart, but had not yet been realised by his hands.

And they were in his mother-and-father's old rooms, which had thankfully been left as untouched as Arafinwe had promised, and Nerdanel and Hephaestus were with them.

"Well, well," said Pandora, while Feanaro poured them drinks from the carafe he'd had brought up. "That was the motley assembly of them, and also our mother-and-father – the King. What did you think of them?"

Nerdanel held Feanaro's gaze for a long moment, searching him, searching herself. She thought long before she decided upon her reply. Feanaro waited.

Then…

"You are cruel to your father's wife and her children," Nerdanel said, and plainly. "They have done nothing to you to receive such treatment. I do not see that you have any defence for such behaviour."

"They _vex_ us," hissed Pandora, and her flames flared up, but Nerdanel did not flinch and Feanor held up one hand to still his daemon.

"Perhaps," he said, shrugging. "But my heart is my heart, and will not change. And you love me either way."

This, she did not disagree with. What she had said had been fact, as she saw it, and not reproach. He did not mind, for it was difficult to put into convincing words the truth of _their_ crimes against him – yet he would not give up, he decided.

His eyes flickered to Hephaestus's elegant lines. He admired once more how Pandora's light could not shine out the blackness in his feathers.

And Hephaestus cocked his head, and after a moment he flew to him, and Feanor held out his arm for him to perch on.

And Pandora was pleased by this, and calmed her fires for a moment.

 

 

*~*~*

 

Daemons seen or mentioned in this chapter include those of –

 

Finwe:                  Gaia, a scarlet king snake

Miriel:                  Elimelech, a bearded vulture

Feanor:                Pandora, a bearded vulture aflame, perhaps a phoenix?

Nerdanel:             Hephaestus, a common raven

Mahtan:               Mnemosyne, whose form is not mentioned (but she'll show up later)

Indis:                   Ishmael, a violet sabrewing

Findis:                 Solomon, a northern island kiwi

Nolofinwe:           Ruth, an Andalusian horse (dark brown in colour)

Irime:                   Jonah, a laughing kookaburra

Arafinwe:             Orpah, an emerald-spotted wood dove

 

 

*~*~*


End file.
